Method of treating steel and iron ingots.



J. A. BRINELL. METHOD OP TREATING STEBLAND IRON INGOTS. PPLIGATION FILED JAN.10, 190B.

976,145. I l Patentdl Nov. 22, 1910.

JOHANl AUGUST BRINELL,

or STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN.

vMIETHOD OF TREATING S'IEIEL` AND'IRON INGOTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

vPatented Nov. 22, 1910.

Application filed January 10, 1908. Serial No. 410,119.

I To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHAN lAUGUST BRINELL, a subject of the King of Sweden, and resident of yBlasieholinsgaten' 3, Stockholm, in the Kingdom of Sweden, have in'- vented certain new and useful improvement-s in 'the method oftreating steel and iron ingots to diminish the segregation therein and the injurious action of the/pipe,

of which the following is a specification.

Duri/ng the setting ofthe metalin steel and iron ingots in the mold or chill, two phenomenav appear, namely, the formation ofhollows, blow holes and pipes, and. segregation. y

When the liquid mass of metal is cooled in the mold, the exterior layers thereof are the firstto become set, and when the inner portions of the ingot cool angd contract, they are unab-le to fill the-entire space inclosed by the exterior' layers which have' lirst become set, and by reason of this fact, a hollow, called the pipe, is formed at thev upper end of the ingot. If now, as is often the case, communication be established between the atmospheric air and the inner part of the pipe during the setting of the interior metal, the walls vof the pipe are Acoated with scale and thewelding of the pipein the subsequent working of the ingot Will be practically impossible.

Even if the admission of air to the pipe be prevented, subsequent welding will often be more or less incomplete, especially if the steelcontains sulfur, as an impurity, because it will diminish the welding capacity of the steel to a great degree. Consequently, theniore free from sulfur those arts of the steel in which the pipe is formed), the greater is 'the possibility of Welding the same together during the subsequent working of the in ot,so that the presence of sulfur is made lsustantially harmless if it be disseminated through the metal. Even other bodies, such as manganese, carbon and silicon will act in the' same way as the sulfur to diminish the Welding capability of the metal, though' in arless degree.

vThe other phenomenon above referred to which appears during the cooling of steel ingots is termed segregation. That is to say, the separation, especially of carbon, sulfur, phosphorus and manganese, which bodies or substances are/lighter' than the steel, and therefore tend. to rise to the surface .and gather in. the upper portions ofv the interior of the ingot. The quality of such segregated bodies in the upper portions of the ingot is often as much as one and a half times as` great as the quantity lof such bodiesor substances in other parts of the ingot. Those portions of a `steel ingot which first become set, to witi the external portions thereof which are nearest the mold ou chill, havev a composition which is most analogous tothat of the liquid steel. In the inner portions of the ingot which set more slowly, thesegregating bodies have time enough to rise toward the upper end of the ingot, from which it follows that the lower portion of the ingot will Vbe more free from, and the upper portion more rich in Vthese segregative bodies.

My present invention has for itsv object the production of a method for treating ingots whereby a more homogeneous composition of the steel or iron in the inner part thereof may be obtained, and in accordance with my invention, I secure the desired results by slowly turning or revolving the ingot during the cooling a sutticientnulnber of times, either continuously or intermittingly, to prevent segregation or to equalize and distribute throughout the mass of the ingot any bodies or substances which ymay have segregatedl to a greater or less extent.

In practice the turning of the ingot should be performed in such manner that the bodies therein which have been segregated will be caused tomove from the upper to the lower portions of the mass of metal which are still liquid, as the turning reverses the ingot. By continuing or maintaining the rotative movement of the ingot, the tendency of such bodies as have been named to rise toward the.

upper portion of the metal isovercome or counteracted to such an extent that a mechanical mixing or distribution is effected by the turning movement to cause an equalization and substantially thorough mixture of the pureand impure bodies of the metal, whereby the segregation is so diminished that those portions of the ingot `in which the pipe is formed will consist of a much better metal than heretofore, the segregative bodies or substances being distributed throughout the length of the ingot with very considerable uniformity, so that during subsequent working of the in ot, thewlding of the pifpe portion thereo lwill be greatly facilitate i Inasmuch as the pipe always tends to form closeubeneath the upper set portion of an ingot, it will extend more or less along the longitudinal axis of the ingot if the latter be slowly turned while its longltudlnal axisv a number of times. in a vertical plane while f the inner portions of the ingot are'still liquid. the pipe can be located at any desired part of the ingot while the substances or bodies tending to segregate will be distributed along the. ingot.

The revolving or turning of the ingot mustbe alrried on at such a slow rate that no centrifugal force will be generated asit will be manifest that such centrifugal action would prevent the proper distrilmtion of the segregative bodies.

lleretofore in the treatment of ingots, the mold iilled with the steel is leftr to cool` co\' ered or uncovered at. its upper end until the pipe has formed. As the upper surface of the ingot becomes set more slowly than other parts of the same, the communicationbe-I .tween the atmospheric air and the pipe heretofore referred to is often established and` the walls of the pipe. become oxidized. l

As the lower part of the ingot is surrounded by metal which has beconie'sct, it will be. understood that if the `ingot is then turned so that, for instance, the lowerend is uppermost the pipe formed will be with- Iout any communication with the air. If now, 'during lthe later stageV of the cooling the ingot is turnedback to the original position occupied during the casting operation, a layer of said steel impermeable to air has also been formed at "the end which was turned upward during the casting, but this 'process differs materially from my method of treatment herein set forth as will be apparent.

So far as the diminution of. segregation is concerned the revolving of the ingot will be effective `even after the steel has become set sufficiently to permit the ingot to be removed bodilyfrom the mold, and accordingly, my present invention is not limited to the bodily turning or rotating of the ingot -end for end when the latter is still in the mold, but e itI also .comprehends such treatment when the ingot Vhas been removed from the mold. v

The time for rotating the ingot as well as the number of rotations required will dey pend on the dimensions of the ingot aswell as on other circumstances, and the lduration of rotation must 'be to a large extent ascertained by experiments for ingots of different dimensions.

The means for carrying out my invention may be of any suitable character, and in the accompanying drawing I have shown one 'heads or holding members 'form of apparatus adapted for practicing my invention.

The drawing represents in front elevation and partial lsection an apparatus for treating ingots in accordance with my invention.

Referringto the drawing, A, B are two uprights which provide suitable bearings for alined and horizontal shafts C, C rotatably mounted in the bearings, said shafts having rigidly attached to their inner ends opposed A piston H rigidly attached to the shaft C ismovable inf a cylinder formed in one of the uprights as B, said cylinder being provided. with suitable conduits K, K for the supply of a suitable pressure producing medium, such, for instance, as water. Gearing L, L is arranged to rotate the shaft C from any suitable source of power, not shown. The faces of thegears in practice are of sufficient width to remain in meshing' engagement when gear L is moved axially, by the inward or outward movement of piston H.

In using the apparatus the ingotafter its removal from the mold or before such removal, asianay` be most desirable, is placed upon al suitable carriage F, by which it is brought between the opposed heads or holding` members D, D' and fluid is then supplied to the cylinder by meansof'the conduit K, to move the piston H to 'the left so that the ingot whether in the mold orout of it` and indicated at E, is subjectedto sufone and then the other end thereof is turned uppermost, said ingot will not be subjected to any more pressure than is sufficient to hold it in place between the heads D, D.- As theslow rotation proceeds with a complete reversing or changing of the ingot end for end, those bodies in the metal which tend to segregate are 'thereby distributed throughout the mass of more or less liquid metal in lthe interior of the ingot from one to the other end thereof in suchy a manner that the segregation of such bodies in 'any one part of the ingot is prevented.

The rotative movement is maintained dur--V ing the setting of the interior metal for such a period as may be best determined by observation 'and experiment, according to the dimensions of the ingot, and in View of other circumstances, which lmight have a qualifying yetteet upon the process.

'l make no claim herein to theparticu'lar forni of apparatus for carrying out my i11- veiitioii, as various forms of apparatus may be devised for the purpose.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z- I. The herein described method of treating steel-or iron ingots to diminish segregation and the injurious action of the pipe formed therein. which consists in slowl-y 1'0- iating'the ingot end-for end la sufiicient number of times during the setting of the metal lo maintain the segregative bodies distributed with substantial uniformity throughout the length ot' thel ingot.

L.` The herein described method of treating steel or iron ingots to diminish. segregation and the injurious action of the pipe formed therein, which consists in slowly rotating the ingot end for end,. about an` vaxis at right angles to lts length and maintaining such rotative movement during the setting ot' the metal, to cause the segregative bodies to be distributed with substantial uniformity lthroughout the length ofthe ingot.

3. Ihe herein described method of treating steel or iron ingots to diminish-Segre ation and the injurious action of the pipe formed therein, which consists in slowly rotating the ingot while in the mold about a substantially horizontal axis .intersecting the ingot transversely and maintaining such rozontal axis at right angles to vit-s lengthl and maintaining such rotative movement continuously dur-ing the setting of the metal for a suiiicient period to effect the distribution of the segregative bodies along the length of, the ingot.

In Witness v whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

.JOHAN .AUGUST BRINELL. f

Witnesses l AXEL EHRNER, HJALMAR ZE'I'rERsTRoM. 

